1. Technical Field
The invention relates to the submission and acceptance of suggestions. More particularly, the invention relates to an innovation network.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, employee who were interested in making suggestions for innovation and improvement to a company faced a difficult task of trying to figure out where to direct their suggestions. The company was also faced with a difficult task of trying to organize and evaluate suggestions relating to a myriad of different issues. At the same time, the company may receive numerous solicitations from third parties for investment into or alliance with their business. Companies currently have no system for tracking receipt and internal comment and categorization to any of these corporate development activities.
D. Hager, C. Rose, Method and Apparatus for Automated Procedure Initiations In A Data Processing System Including Soliciting An Evaluation Vote From Users Automatically Determined In Response To Identification of a Functional Area Associated with a Document, U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,355 (27 Dec. 1994) disclose a method and apparatus in which a selected document is identified and evaluates of the selected document are automatically solicited from a selected group of evaluators. In one embodiment, the evaluators are automatically selected in response to the technical or functional subject matter of the document.
R. Schloss, System, Method and Computer Program Product For Reviewing and Creating Advisories For Data Located On a Content Serverx, U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,233 (2 Mar. 1999) discloses a system and method which develops new and revised advisories on content loaded (or available to be loaded) by a client from a content server via a protocol between the client and any number of advisory servers that maintain “ratings” knowledge bases.
D. Boulton, W. Vucenic, J. Stallings, Method and Apparatus For Implementing User Feedback, U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,618 (16 Jul. 1996) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,291 (15 Oct. 1996) disclose a method and apparatus for implementing user feedback in which a user may activate an enter feedback mode command in a computer environment to provide feedback in a feedback interface.
Among other shortcomings, the prior art fails to recognize, let alone address, the need to accommodate unsolicited and/or unclassified ideas, suggestions, propositions, or innovations. It would be advantageous to provide an innovation network for receiving classifying such ideas, suggestions, propositions, and innovations.